SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- While it may have been their first real game action of the 2009-10 season, the Missouri State Lady Bears appeared to be in mid-season form Sunday afternoon at JQH Arena. MSU bolted from the gate to build a 30-point halftime lead before cruising to a 117-49 victory over the visiting Griffons in its first exhibition contest of the campaign.
A balanced scoring attack that saw seven Lady Bears finish in double figures proved to be more than Missouri Western could handle. The Lady Bears shot a blistering 53 percent from the floor, including .595 (22-of-37) in the second half, and outrebounded the Griffons 51-29 for the contest.
Freshman Christiana Shorter led all scorers with 19 points, while sophomore Lacey Boshe totaled 18 points, helping account for a whopping 64-20 advantage for MSU in points scored in the paint.
Missouri State's defense also played a large role in the runaway victory, holding the Griffons to just 34.6 percent shooting and forcing 36 MWSU turnovers on the afternoon. MSU was able to turn those giveaways into 51 points, while Missouri Western registered just seven points off 15 Missouri State turnovers.
The Lady Bears charged to an early advantage, building a 19-6 lead in the first six minutes of the contest behind a strong defensive effort that forced eight early Griffon turnovers. Casey Garrison's three-pointer at the 14:31 mark stretched the MSU lead to 13 heading into the first media timeout, and the Lady Bears never looked back.
Using a 24-6 run, Missouri State pushed its lead to as many as 37 points in the opening period and frustrated Missouri Western into committing 19 turnovers before the break. The Lady Bears shot 48 percent from the field, including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc to take a 59-29 lead into the halftime locker room.
MSU picked up right where it left off to open the second stanza, scoring 36 of the first 46 points out of the break to stretch the margin to 58 points. The Lady Bears would push their lead to 72 points on a pair of Shorter free throws with just under a minute to play.
Sophomore Jacque Griggs also came through with a big game for MSU, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Whitney Edie (16 points), Garrison (15 points), Jasmine Malone (13 points) and Jaleshia Roberson (11 points) also posted double-digit scoring efforts for the Lady Bears.
The Lady Bears will be back in action versus Arkansas Tech next Saturday (Nov. 7) at 7:05 p.m., in their final exhibition tune-up before opening the regular season with a Nov. 14 home game against Georgetown.
